The world’s largest fast-food chain wants to offer you a virtual restaurant in the metaverse, but it will do the delivery physically. McDonald’s has applied for 10 metaverse-related patents that seek to allow it to deliver food online and in person, offer entertainment services, sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and more.
The company filed its patent applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently, joining a growing list of global companies making a splash in the metaverse.
McDonald's is headed to the metaverse.
The company has filed 10 (TEN!) trademark applications indicating it plans to offer "a virtual restaurant featuring actual and virtual goods" and "operating a virtual restaurant featuring home delivery."#Mcdonalds #Metaverse pic.twitter.com/J9pK7EK9nl
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) February 9, 2022
The patents seek to allow the fast-food chain to offer “virtual food and beverage products” as well as “downloadable multimedia files containing artwork, text, audio and video files and non-fungible tokens.” McDonald’s also wants to offer online retail services featuring virtual goods.
The restaurant chain also filed the patents under its McCafe brand, which will go beyond food and beverage to offer “online actual and virtual concert.”
According to one trademark expert, the move could prove to be big for McDonald’s as the metaverse gains mainstream popularity. Trademark Attorney and founder of Gerben Perrott, PLLC Josh Gerben believes that its combination of virtual and physical aspects will be its jackpot. This will allow those in the metaverse to grab a McDonald’s meal without having to leave the metaverse and get the meal in the real world.
“You are hanging out in the metaverse and get hungry. You don’t have to put down your headset. You walk into a McDonald’s and place an order. It arrives at your door a little while later,” Gerben stated.
The McDonald’s move comes at a time when almost every other company is exploring the metaverse. This virtual world combines aspects of the real world with the virtual world, allowing users to explore brands, attend concerts, play games, attend meetings, interact with friends, and more, all from the comfort of their homes.
In the Bitcoin space, Transmira is setting the pace with its Omniscape XR platform which combines the best of virtual and augmented realities. During CES, the biggest consumer electronics show in the world, which took place in January, Omniscape was ranked among the top three innovations.
“When you see this critical mass of large companies making this many new trademark filings, it’s very clear this is coming. I think you’re going to see every brand that you can think of make these filings within the next 12 months. I don’t think anyone wants to be the next Blockbuster and just completely ignore a new technology that’s coming,” Gerben stated, speaking to Forbes.
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